Spain has always been well known for its famous sweets and desserts. From small, family-owned pastry shops to modern, award-winning chocolate shops, you are likely to pass a floor-to-ceiling window display of a variety of tasty desserts in almost any area. Better yet, almost every major holiday has its own accompanying sweet in the pastry shop in Spain, and Christmas is no exception. Whether it be turrón, polvorones or mazapanes, don’t miss the chance to taste one of these incredible local products during your trip to Spain this festive season. To help you out, here are the best pastry and turrón shops in Madrid and Barcelona.

Madrid
1) La Mallorquina
Located on the corner or Calle Mayor in Puerta del Sol, La Mallorquina is often considered the most famous pastry shop in Madrid. It is also one of the oldest, having been in business for more than 100 years. The name of the bakery means “the woman from Mallorca” in English, founded as a café by Mallorcan man Juan Ripoll in the mid-1800s. The shop has two stories and a large seating area upstairs where you can relax and watch the passers-by in Sol, while enjoying a delicious pastry with a coffee. The best-selling products here are the Neapolitan cream and the chocolate palm, but during Christmas you will also find “el Roscón de Reyes” and buñelos.

La Mallorquina, Madrid

2) El Riojano
Also Located in Madrid’s Calle Mayor is El Riojano, a bakery opened by Riojan man Don Dámaso de la Maza in 1855. Before opening his own store, Don Dámosa worked as Queen Isabella II’s pastry chef, and to this day El Riojano still serves pastries to the Spanish royal family! Despite its small size, the Elizabethan era décor along with the showcases full of scrumptious pastries will be sure to catch the eye of any visitor. It also boasts an array of seasonal Christmas specialities, which include turrón, buñelos, el Rosco de Reyes, torrijas, polvorones and much more.

El Riojano, Madrid

3) Casa Mira
Located just off Plaza Mayor, Casa Mira is the perfect places to go at this time of year as its most famous product is its classic turrón. Casa Mira was founded by Valencian man Luis Mira in 1855 – who walked from his hometown of Jijona in the province of Valencia to Plaza Mayor in Madrid to sell his homemade turrón out of a cart, and eventually ended up serving it to Queen Isabella II! In the days leading up to Christmas it not uncommon to find hours-long queues of people wishing to stock up on their famous speciality, so make sure you get there early!

Casa Mira, Madrid

4) Antigua Pastelería del Pozo
Located in Calle del Pozo near Sol, Antigua Pastelería del Pozo was founded almot 190 years ago, making it the oldest Pastry shop in Madrid! It’s called Antigua for a reason, as everything from the wooden panels that cover the exterior to the old fashioned till on the counter. Even better, everything is made on-site in underground ovens! Anyone who visits this unique bakery should be sure to try their “Roscón de Reyes”, a typical dessert on Three Kings Day. The difference here is that most bakeries only sell it during the Christmas period, but Pozo sells it all year long making it arguable one of the best in Madrid!

Antigua Pastelería del Pozo, Madrid

Barcelona
1) Fargas
Located in Barcelona’s Carrer del Pi, The first Farga pastry shop was founded in 1957 in Barcelona by Don Jesus Farga, which has led to 55 years of experience and more than 80 establishments under his two brands, Farga and Farggi. What makes Farga so special is its unique collections of boxes of chocolates and cookies, which vary depending on the season. Farga’s most important Christmas product is its turrón, which can be bought in a variety of different flavours as well as in an assortment in one of their famous boxes. A perfect Christmas gift!

Fargas, Barcelona

2) Torrons Vicens
Starting off as a family business in Lérida in 1775, Torrons Vicens hold a long tradition of Nougat. The company’s aim is to keep the the artisanal, traditional essence of nougat as well as researching new recipes and products to keep producing new, updated products. They have almost every type of turrón you can imagine, making it the perfect Christmas gift!

Torrons Vicens, Barcelona

3) La Pastisseria
Although a lot more recent to the Barcelona pastry scene, La Pastisseria is already famous for its incredible sweet products. Owned by Josep María Rodríguez Guerola – who was once a winner of the “Pastry World Cup” – this modern, minimalist pastelería offers a wide variety of unique cakes, biscuits, pastries desserts and more. They also boast an extensive Christmas range, which this year includes a wide variety of different flavour turrones, little Christmas decorated sweets, edible Christmas figures and the famous “Roscon del Rey”. With an abundance of highly complementary reviews already, this place is definitely worth a visit during your trip to Barcelona.

La Pastiseria, Barcelona

4) La Pastisseria Escribà
The Escribà Pastry Shop is considered to be one of the best bakeries in the city. It has multiple stores located around Barcelona, where you will find an assortment of cakes, sweets and pastries which are all unique. This pastry shop was founded in 1906 and still remains as one of the most outstanding in Barcelona, due to its creativity and original concepts. At Christmas, Escribà offer a range of seasonal goods, which include their own turrón and marzipan.

La Pastisseria Escribà, Barcelona

If you are in Madrid are Barcelona this Christmas be sure to check out some of these delicious places – but hurry – the closer to Christmas it gets, the busier they are!

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Map locating Madrid and Barcelona